A LECTURERS’ union has warned higher education reforms are “long overdue” after top Welsh universities slipped down a UK league table of institutions.

Seven out of the country’s nine universities dropped down the annual Sunday Times University Guide 2012 – with only Glyndwr University and the University of Glamorgan gaining places.

Cardiff is still Wales’ top-ranking university but has dropped out of the top 25, slipping from 24th to 26th.

Second best is Aberystwyth, which has gone from 43rd last year to 48th this time around.

Bangor University, down to 53rd from 48th, was rated as having the best teaching excellence in Wales (79.3%) and was among Britain’s top 15 universities on that measure.

Swansea also fell from 50th last year to 57th, while the University of Wales Trinity St David went from 102nd to 114th and the University of Wales, Newport, went from 111th to 115th.

Teaching Unions said the drop-off in standards across the majority of Welsh universities highlighted the need for the Welsh Government to keep pushing through reforms of the sector.

Dr Philip Dixon, director of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) in Wales, said: “The drop in the majority of universities going down this table does give cause for concern and is also a clear indication that the reorganisation of higher education in Wales is long overdue and why the minister has been right to push that agenda and speed it up.

“We have to develop higher education in Wales, not just so it is excellent in the UK but so it is excellent in world terms.”

There was good news for the University of Glamorgan, not just because it climbed five places from 92nd to 87th but also because it had the best success rate for graduates finding employment after their studies, with just 5.6% unemployed post-studies.

Glyndwr University was the only other Welsh climber, going from 109th last year to 103rd.

Staff from both Glyndwr and Glamorgan said the universities’ respective partnerships with industry had been key to their success.

Julie Lydon, University of Glamorgan vice-chancellor, said: “This is a result of our close partnership with industry and our commitment to giving students the employability skills they need to succeed in the jobs market.”

A spokesman for Glyndwr University said: “We are delighted to be one of only two universities in Wales to improve on our ranking this year.

“The university is proud of its commitment to delivering industry-related courses which get jobs for our students. This is shown in the large numbers of students who enter graduate-level jobs when they leave.”

Meanwhile, Professor John G Hughes, Bangor University vice-chancellor, said the university was “delighted” its teaching excellence had been recognised.

He said: “As a university we place a high value on excellent teaching and student care, so we’re delighted that the quality of our teaching has been recognised as the best in Wales.”

The Sunday Times University Guide is described as “the definitive rankings” for universities.

It rates universities on a range of criteria including student satisfaction, teaching and research quality, degree results, student to staff ratio, graduate unemployment levels and university dropout rates.

But a Cardiff University spokeswoman said league tables were an “inexact science”, while those universities which have lost places pointed to the National Student Survey, which they said proved their popularity.

Professor Martin Jones, pro vice-chancellor at Aberystwyth University, said: “Aberystwyth University offers one of the best student experiences in the whole of the UK, a fact that was underlined in the most recent National Student Survey published in August, where it featured joint fourth in the UK for student satisfaction.

“Despite the fact that the number of students from Wales is in actual decline, Aberystwyth has seen its intake of Welsh students rise by 4% this year.”

A Welsh Government spokeswoman reinforced the need to strengthen university learning to compete for the best students across the globe.

She said: “Our plans to reconfigure the sector will lead to fewer, stronger and more successful universities in Wales. Our aim is to ensure sustainable delivery of high quality, accessible HE provision throughout Wales.”